Langston Hughes African-American Film Festival Under Way

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, running April 17-25, is all over town this year. The seventh annual festival, usually held at the historic Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center in the Central District, has had to find a new home — in fact, several of them — while the LHPAC temporarily closes for planned seismic and electrical renovations.

“We’ve been lucky in being able to make some community connections and find other places to show the films,” said festival curator Zola Mumford, who said that organizers knew of the closure a year ago and had time to plan a more far-flung festival. Saturday’s opening-night film will be held at Cinerama downtown, followed by a week of screenings at Central Cinema on Capitol Hill and closing April 25 at the Museum of History & Industry in Montlake.

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“It’s a really different step for us, geographically,” said Mumford of the festival’s relocation. “We’ve had a wonderful, loyal audience that travels to Langston Hughes, and it’s easy to do everything under one roof. This will be a bit challenging but we’re looking forward to it.”